Shloka 3
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
केन मृत्युर्गृहस्थेन धर्ममाश्रित्य निर्जित: । इत्येतत् सर्वमाचक्ष्व तत्त्वेनापि च पार्थिव,भूपाल! किस गृहस्थने केवल धर्मका आश्रय लेकर मृत्युपर विजय पायी है? यह सब बातें आप यथार्थरूपसे कहिये
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
kena mṛtyur gṛhasthena dharmam āśritya nirjitaḥ |
ity etat sarvam ācakṣva tattvenāpi ca pārthiva bhūpāla ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Bởi vị gia chủ nào, chỉ nương tựa nơi dharma, mà Thần Chết đã bị khuất phục? Tâu Đại vương, bậc hộ trì cõi đất—xin nói cho con tất cả điều ấy đúng theo chân thật.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral inquiry: whether steadfast reliance on dharma within ordinary household life can ‘conquer’ Death—i.e., transcend fear of mortality through righteous living, truthfulness, and ethical discipline.
Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully questions a kingly authority figure, asking for a truthful account of a householder who overcame Death by adhering to dharma, setting up an instructive exemplum within the Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic discourse.